gninja
Filled w/enraged monkeys
I'll try to keep this as neutral and genial as possible, but right now I'm ****ing livid, so we'll see.
A couple weeks ago I finally got the insurance payout for my previous bike, the old bike had been stolen, and what I wanted was the same bike or a bit newer.
I called around to a lot of places, some people had the right bike, but the wrong color. Marin Cycleworks had the right bike, the right color, and new. I got a price quote over the phone. I went in a few days later to buy it, that's when all the problems started.
The price I got quoted in the shop was $300 more than the price I was quoted on the phone. I thought about walking out right then and there, but figured in the time it would take another shop to order the bike, have it shipped, and assembled, I'd pay more than that in gas. So I stayed. I haggled. I got a "deal" yet when it came to the final paperwork, the base price was still the same price I'd been quoted when I walked in the door. Again I should have walked out then, but I sighed and signed the paperwork anyway. I knew what I wanted, but I ignored the signs telling me that Marin Cycleworks was NOT the place to get it.
When I rode the bike off the lot, as I was getting on the freeway I was hearing a horrible noise with the front brakes. I got where I was going, took a look and didn't see anything. I called the shop and told them about it, they told me "That's just new brake noise, it'll go away in a couple days." I told them that it didn't sound like new brake noise, but was dismissed.
When I got home I took a good look at it. Missing a brake pad, and I'd already managed to destroy the rotor, and I assumed the caliper.
A more detailed inspection of the bike showed numerous loose screws, visibly, obviously loose. And no toolkit.
I had it back to their shop first thing the next morning. After talking to the shop guy they had the gall to tell me that if it wasn't covered under the warranty, I would have to pay for it myself.
Let me repeat that. They told me, that if the replacements/repairs of the missing and damaged parts on a brand new bike that I had bought from them, the day before, were not covered under the warranty, that I would have to pay for it myself.
They also told me that they'd have the parts in, in 3-5 days. When I talked to them again later, I was told a week. The next time I talked to them, they said "We should have your parts in on monday." I foolishly implied from that, that they would be working on it, on monday. That was a mistake, as their service department isn't even open on mondays (which they did not mention)...
When I talked to them today, they told me "We don't know where your parts are, or when they're getting here."
They also aren't replacing the caliper, because "it's not damaged enough."
To contrast with my experiences with other dealerships/shops... When I've had a bike out with normal warranty work, I've been offered loaner bikes. Junker bikes, but still loaners. When they couldn't get a warranty part from the manufacturer quickly, I've had other shops offer to pull parts off floor bikes, or call other dealerships for parts, so they could get me back on the road quickly.
Every other place has followed through after sale to try and keep me as a happy customer. Even the other shops I've dealt with that weren't dealerships have been happy to do, without me asking, what they need to do, to keep me happy and riding.
Marin Cycleworks took my money and they've given me squat for satisfaction. They don't care if I'm riding, they don't care when they get my bike back to me, they don't care that they sold me an uninspected bike with a HUGE safety flaw.
Marin Cycleworks Does Not Care.
This wasn't my first case of dealing with them, but you can sure bet it'll be my last.
EDIT:
So, now it's 2009, roughly a year later.
I've now been dealing with Hyosung for close to four months over a lemon dispute.
Approx 8 months after getting the bike, it suffered a series of electrical failures. Started with the regulator and went through the gas sensor, the dash, the clutch sensor and who knows what else.
It's taken Hyosung close to four months to find and fix all the problems. They're currently blaming it on the Lojack. The Lojack that was installed by Marin Cycleworks, ostensibly by a mechanic trained and licensed by both Hyosung and Lojack, the Lojack which had been tested by Lojack themselves, after the installation...
Since they're blaming it on a third-party part, they've denied my Lemon claim; despite the utter ridiculousness of something that draws like, .25 milliamps, frying the entire electrical system 8 months after installation. They also have gone out of their way to not return my calls, lie in easily proved ways, and have even gone so far as quoting altered copies of the CA vehicle code, with added punctuation that modifies the intent of the lemon laws.
I still blame Marin Cycleworks for my initial experiences with this bike, but I have added Hyosung to my shit list. And seeing as it's currently at Moto Marin, (not through my choice) which, as far as I can tell is just Marin Cycleworks rebranded, and has been there for over a month now...
Screw Hyosung, and screw anyone who works with them.
They say the bike's working now, but I haven't even seen it in four months. We'll see how it is when I get it back, and how long it takes before it dies again.
I look forward to putting more miles on it and devaluing it even more while I deal with a protracted court battle, after which I expect Hyosung will be out even more money for legal fees and damages (on top of all the repair costs) for a bike worth even less.
A couple weeks ago I finally got the insurance payout for my previous bike, the old bike had been stolen, and what I wanted was the same bike or a bit newer.
I called around to a lot of places, some people had the right bike, but the wrong color. Marin Cycleworks had the right bike, the right color, and new. I got a price quote over the phone. I went in a few days later to buy it, that's when all the problems started.
The price I got quoted in the shop was $300 more than the price I was quoted on the phone. I thought about walking out right then and there, but figured in the time it would take another shop to order the bike, have it shipped, and assembled, I'd pay more than that in gas. So I stayed. I haggled. I got a "deal" yet when it came to the final paperwork, the base price was still the same price I'd been quoted when I walked in the door. Again I should have walked out then, but I sighed and signed the paperwork anyway. I knew what I wanted, but I ignored the signs telling me that Marin Cycleworks was NOT the place to get it.
When I rode the bike off the lot, as I was getting on the freeway I was hearing a horrible noise with the front brakes. I got where I was going, took a look and didn't see anything. I called the shop and told them about it, they told me "That's just new brake noise, it'll go away in a couple days." I told them that it didn't sound like new brake noise, but was dismissed.
When I got home I took a good look at it. Missing a brake pad, and I'd already managed to destroy the rotor, and I assumed the caliper.
A more detailed inspection of the bike showed numerous loose screws, visibly, obviously loose. And no toolkit.
I had it back to their shop first thing the next morning. After talking to the shop guy they had the gall to tell me that if it wasn't covered under the warranty, I would have to pay for it myself.
Let me repeat that. They told me, that if the replacements/repairs of the missing and damaged parts on a brand new bike that I had bought from them, the day before, were not covered under the warranty, that I would have to pay for it myself.
They also told me that they'd have the parts in, in 3-5 days. When I talked to them again later, I was told a week. The next time I talked to them, they said "We should have your parts in on monday." I foolishly implied from that, that they would be working on it, on monday. That was a mistake, as their service department isn't even open on mondays (which they did not mention)...
When I talked to them today, they told me "We don't know where your parts are, or when they're getting here."
They also aren't replacing the caliper, because "it's not damaged enough."
To contrast with my experiences with other dealerships/shops... When I've had a bike out with normal warranty work, I've been offered loaner bikes. Junker bikes, but still loaners. When they couldn't get a warranty part from the manufacturer quickly, I've had other shops offer to pull parts off floor bikes, or call other dealerships for parts, so they could get me back on the road quickly.
Every other place has followed through after sale to try and keep me as a happy customer. Even the other shops I've dealt with that weren't dealerships have been happy to do, without me asking, what they need to do, to keep me happy and riding.
Marin Cycleworks took my money and they've given me squat for satisfaction. They don't care if I'm riding, they don't care when they get my bike back to me, they don't care that they sold me an uninspected bike with a HUGE safety flaw.
Marin Cycleworks Does Not Care.
This wasn't my first case of dealing with them, but you can sure bet it'll be my last.
EDIT:
So, now it's 2009, roughly a year later.
I've now been dealing with Hyosung for close to four months over a lemon dispute.
Approx 8 months after getting the bike, it suffered a series of electrical failures. Started with the regulator and went through the gas sensor, the dash, the clutch sensor and who knows what else.
It's taken Hyosung close to four months to find and fix all the problems. They're currently blaming it on the Lojack. The Lojack that was installed by Marin Cycleworks, ostensibly by a mechanic trained and licensed by both Hyosung and Lojack, the Lojack which had been tested by Lojack themselves, after the installation...
Since they're blaming it on a third-party part, they've denied my Lemon claim; despite the utter ridiculousness of something that draws like, .25 milliamps, frying the entire electrical system 8 months after installation. They also have gone out of their way to not return my calls, lie in easily proved ways, and have even gone so far as quoting altered copies of the CA vehicle code, with added punctuation that modifies the intent of the lemon laws.
I still blame Marin Cycleworks for my initial experiences with this bike, but I have added Hyosung to my shit list. And seeing as it's currently at Moto Marin, (not through my choice) which, as far as I can tell is just Marin Cycleworks rebranded, and has been there for over a month now...
Screw Hyosung, and screw anyone who works with them.
They say the bike's working now, but I haven't even seen it in four months. We'll see how it is when I get it back, and how long it takes before it dies again.
I look forward to putting more miles on it and devaluing it even more while I deal with a protracted court battle, after which I expect Hyosung will be out even more money for legal fees and damages (on top of all the repair costs) for a bike worth even less.
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As far as the price goes, all I would have done would have been to ask for the guy who quoted me, and that would have been that. Ifhe wasn't there I would have gotten him on the cell phone, and then walked if they didn't honor it. As far as the brakes go, same deal. I would turn around and take it back to the dealer for inspection. 
